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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25839637">Mother's Love</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khrystyll/pseuds/Khrystyll'>Khrystyll</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Life after the end [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hikaru no Go</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Post-Canon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:21:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,188</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25839637</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khrystyll/pseuds/Khrystyll</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Touya Akiko worries about her son's social development. Shindou Mitsuko worries about her son's future.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Shindou Hikaru &amp; Shindou Mitsuko, Shindou Hikaru &amp; Touya Akira, Touya Akira &amp; Touya Akiko</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Life after the end [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1601968</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>74</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Touya Akiko</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter is told from Touya Akiko (Akira's mother)'s POV.<br/>There are references to the Hokuto Cup arc. For those who didn't read the manga, please see end notes for brief summary.<br/>Some characters are mentioned in passing.<br/>Yes, Akiko refers to her son as Akira-san in canon.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Touya Akiko knows about Go a lot more than most people. After all, she’s been exposed to it for a good portion of her life. Her husband was once the top Go player in Japan before his retirement from professional games, and her only son seems to want to follow his father’s footsteps. She isn’t the kind of person that can stay clueless about something that’s so intertwined with the lives of the people around her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>While Akiko has never really understood what draws people to the game to the point of near obsession, she has been in a position over the years to see the true and honest joys the game has brought to the men in her family. And that has always been enough to nurture a certain kind of love for the game in her— not for wanting to play it, but for the happiness it brings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The only time Akiko ever had reservations about the game was the realization that her son spent his childhood almost completely for Go. While this, by itself, isn’t so bad, what worried her the most was that her son spent more time with adults than he ever did with kids his age. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akira-san was never a problematic child. In fact, he was always relatively quiet, well-behaved, and wise beyond his years. So much so, that some regulars in her family’s Go salon have taken to calling her son “Akira-sensei” when he was still 10! It horrified her to hear that, and she remembered thinking it couldn’t be good for a kid to always be put on such pedestals. Luckily, Akira-san’s personality lets him ignore the honorific rather than revel in it. It also helps that Ichikawa-san is always there to keep treating him appropriately for his age. And, when he attended his father’s study group, no one there really treated him particularly differently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>While grateful for his maturity, Akiko couldn’t help but wonder if she should be encouraging him to hang out with friends more, go to the movies, attend sports matches, and play video games, or whatever it is kids do these days. There was even one time she seriously considered subtly nudging him to skip school. Really, where was all the teenage angst and rebellion that she had mentally prepared herself for?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Akira-san asked for permission to let fellow professionals stay at their house to prepare for the Hokuto Cup, Akiko was ecstatic! Yes, it was still about Go and more for work than for actually hanging out, but his two teammates were about the same age. Akiko has never seen her son interact with kids his age outside of school and during some Go tournaments. It’s his first time having anyone over at their house. Akiko was only slightly sad she wasn’t there to witness it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Imagine her astonishment when a few months after that, Akira-san asks for permission over dinner to have Shindou-kun come over and use the goban in the house. Their family Go salon is hosting a small amateur tournament on the day they both usually go to practice. In her surprise and excitement, Akiko uncharacteristically gives the OK before her husband could even get a word out.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>She’s only ever seen him that one time he visited her husband in the hospital, but Shindou-kun is almost exactly the way Akiko imagined he would be. A little brash and impulsive, but overall kind. He has a surprising knowledge of proper conduct even if he realizes the situation a little too late before he’s able to correct himself. It makes Akiko laugh, the way he tries so hard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shindou-kun is very different from Akira-san personality-wise. She would have thought he’d be the type of person Akira-san would have a difficult time interacting with. To her surprise, the conversation between them flows naturally. The realization that her son actually has a friend (and maybe others, too) that she just didn’t know about makes her tear up in relief.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the boys settle down in front of the goban in the living room, Akiko excuses herself so she can go prepare some snacks and tea for them. When she comes back with the snacks, they’re both so focused on the game before them that she doesn’t have the heart to tell them to take a break yet. So she informs them about the snacks as she leaves it nearby, and she goes to do other chores for the day.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s about three hours later, when Akiko is hanging up some laundry outside, that she hears yelling from inside the house. She immediately pins down some clothes haphazardly so they aren’t blown away by the wind and rushes back to the house in a panic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It is when she reaches the living room that she actually hears what the yelling is all about. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no, no! See, if you place the black stone there, I can place my white stone here!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But then, I can just respond with a stone over here, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s assuming your opponent doesn’t notice what you’re trying to do!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t earlier!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I did!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then why didn’t you stop this side from expanding?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There was also a possibility of this corner being targeted!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You just didn’t notice!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m just looking at the broader picture!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Go. It’s about Go. It wasn’t an emergency, it was just Go. Two teenage boys are arguing about Go in her living room. Akira-san is </span>
  <em>
    <span>yelling </span>
  </em>
  <span>because of Go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akiko could feel her knees weakening as she relaxes at the knowledge that it wasn’t anything serious. At the same time, she’s struggling to be completely calm about the realization that this might actually be the first time she’s heard her son even remotely raise his voice. They are arguing about how to move the stones, and her son is yelling at another kid his age who is yelling back just as loud.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In front of her very eyes, for the very first time, her usually quiet and mature 15-year-old son is behaving more like his age than she’s ever seen him. She couldn’t help it. The laugh was ripped out of her throat in her disbelief.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Both boys turn to look in her direction and immediately stop their argument. Shindou-kun just looked slightly downward, with a hand rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry, we got too loud again, didn’t we?” Apparently this happened often.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She could see her son’s face turning red in embarrassment. He looked about ready to apologize for his behavior. So Akiko tried to hold it in, she really did. But she just burst out laughing in the most unseemly way she’s ever laughed in years. The boys are now looking at her weirdly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh no, no. Don’t mind me.” She says in between laughs that she’s managed to more elegantly control. She gestures towards the goban between them. “Carry on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akiko then closes the door to the living room, a smile still on her face. She wipes away the tears that have escaped the corners of her eyes, and walks back to the laundry she left behind. What was she even worried about? Her son seems to be doing just fine.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This was originally a one-shot.<br/>But since the two parts are only connected by the same theme and not the story itself, I decided to separate them into two short chapters.<br/>For those who didn't read the manga, this chapter references Shindou, Touya, and Yashiro's training for the Hokuto Cup, for which they stayed over at Touya's place.<br/>Please let me know your thoughts in the comments!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Shindou Mitsuko</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter is told from Shindou Mitsuko (Hikaru's mother)'s POV.<br/>There is a reference to Hikaru and Yashiro's conversation during their training for Hokuto Cup, which is largely what inspired this chapter.<br/>For those who didn't read the manga, please see end notes for a brief summary.<br/>A lot of other characters are mentioned in passing.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Shindou Mitsuko loves her son very much. Hikaru is a rather cheeky and impulsive kid, so people’s first impression of him isn’t often good. But he’s not afraid to try different things, and he’s surprisingly decisive when needed. Though Mitsuko would love for him to put more effort into his education, overall, her son was a good kid.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Admittedly, Mitsuko never really felt quite connected to Hikaru. Her son has the tendency to just go through life without telling her anything, unless he absolutely needed to. Moreover, he was the type of kid that wanted to try everything that caught his eye, but was easily bored and never stuck to any one thing. Not only does Mitsuko not know much about her son’s life, she can’t even say what his hobbies are because he never did anything for too long. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, Mitsuko wasn’t surprised when Hikaru asked her to enroll him in a Go class. She doesn’t know why he’s suddenly interested in the game, or why he wanted to learn, but it wasn’t out of the ordinary. Hikaru has enrolled in, and promptly left, several different classes before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few months later, though, Mitsuko was surprised when Hikaru asked her to accompany him to try out for what seemed to be another Go school. He was actually planning to continue playing Go! For how long, Mitsuko doesn’t know. She doesn’t understand, though, why Hikaru is insisting on this school. She saw kids all around the place, and decided maybe Hikaru just wanted to play Go with those his age.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mitsuko’s biggest surprise, however, was several more months later, when Hikaru announced that he has become a professional Go player and will no longer continue his studies after he graduates from middle school.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What... is her son saying?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She could not comprehend when and how Hikaru’s Go hobbies had become so serious. Deciding not to go to high school is not something to be taken lightly. Besides, a professional Go player? She didn’t even know there was such a thing! She figured if Hikaru really enjoyed Go, he’d just be like his grandfather who joined neighborhood tournaments.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What exactly does a professional player do? What will Hikaru be doing? Will he earn enough? Is he good enough to win? Are there a lot of professionals? Is he the only kid? Is this risky job worth doing? Isn’t he too young?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not only does Mitsuko not know anything about the Go world, she also doesn’t know how Hikaru fits in that world. For the first time, Mitsuko resented the fact that she didn’t know much of what goes on in Hikaru’s life. Perhaps it’s her fault for not asking persistently enough. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hikaru, being the decisive person he is, had already decided what he was going to do. Hikaru isn’t stupid, so he must have concluded he’d be willing to stick to Go no matter what. But it doesn’t change the fact that he’s young. Mitsuko cannot just take his word for it, not for something so life-changing for her only son. So she learned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She talked to his teachers at school, to the mother of another professional kid named Waya-kun, to the teacher at Hikaru’s old Go school. She read books and magazines, and watched TV programs. She did anything if she thought it could give her more ideas about professional Go. She even visited the Go Institute once to make sure it was official and legal and real. A man there was nice enough to answer all her questions patiently. She asked about player demographics, job stability, and salary.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At the end of it all, Mitsuko still doesn’t understand everything, but at least she’s no longer completely ignorant. She never really learned much about playing the game itself, but Mitsuko was at least reassured that Hikaru has good friends and a good environment. Hikaru didn’t like her “prying”, but Mitsuko was just glad to be able to dispel some of her worries.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Mitsuko doesn’t know what happened exactly, but recently Hikaru is less annoyed when she asks questions about his job. He even answers her properly, albeit still vaguely. And when he invited her to watch one of his games for the first time, she could hardly believe it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She ended up going, even if she understood absolutely nothing while she was there. All she knew was that Hikaru lost his match in the end, but for some reason just seeing him there made her endlessly proud.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At some point Hikaru started telling her bits about his life. Mitsuko even didn’t notice until his grandfather asked her where Hikaru was and she surprised herself when she was able to answer that he had a match with someone named Kurata-san. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hikaru would now tell her if he went to the Go Institute, or one of his friends’ houses, or some Go salon. Slowly, she also learned of the names of the people around him: Touya, Yashiro, Waya, Isumi-san, Ochi, Morishita-sensei, Kurata-san, Ogata-sensei, among others. On the rare occasions that he brings a friend or two home, she was even able to put faces to some of these names.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sometimes, she would watch Go matches on TV and Hikaru would help her understand some points here and there. Of course, Hikaru still got annoyed when she didn’t understand some things as easily as he would like, or when she asked a question he’d “already answered before”. He also gave up explaining some of the more confusing rules in Go when she just couldn’t comprehend them. But, honestly, if he actually had the patience to teach and tell her everything, then he wouldn’t be Hikaru.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mitsuko still does not know much about Go, and she’ll never truly understand the Go world. But she’s surprisingly content this way. Maybe from the start, all she needed was not to understand everything but to just be a part of his life and be there for him.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>For those who didn't read the manga, Yashiro's parents are against him playing Go professionally. Unlike Shindou and the others who chose to focus on Go and didn't go to high school, Yashiro is playing Go while attending high school because his parents do not believe there is a future for him in Go. Upon learning this, Shindou realizes he took his mother's support for granted.</p><p>Thanks for reading!<br/>Please let me know your thoughts in the comments!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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